Man cited in frozen chicken nugget incident

On the afternoon of Thursday February 25th, officers responded to a shoplifting complaint at a local convenience store.
According to officer notes, a store employee indicated a male party had been observed removing a package of frozen chicken nuggets and then entering the store’s restroom. When the male departed the restroom, the employee entered the restroom and discovered the package in the trash, but missing several nuggets.
The employee indicated the male had departed the store prior to officer arrival, but had documented the license plate information of the departing vehicle.
Upon further investigation, the male was identified as 19-year old Anthony K. Johnson and was also found to be a Criminal Justice student at a local post-secondary institution.
Contact was made with Johnson a short time later and he reportedly admitted to the theft.
Johnson reportedly stated he committed the theft due to being hungry and not having money to pay for the chicken nuggets.
However according to officer notes, Johnson reportedly returned to the store to pay for the nuggets prior to speaking with officers.
During a phone conversation, Johnson reportedly agreed to speak with the investigating officer but failed to follow-through.
Upon contact with Johnson’s mother, the officer was advised Johnson felt he was doing the store a favor by consuming the nuggets, due to the nuggets being expired.
According to further notes from the officer, Johnson was informed to be prepared to explain his good deed to the Merrill Municipal Court as he would be cited for retail theft.
Contact was finally made with Anthony Johnson later Thursday afternoon, at which point he was cited for retail theft and encouraged to speak with his college instructors regarding the incident.